varnishing old carved wood panel

[aliyesami]

please see the picture , its a carved wood panel with very intricate design , but looks like the wood was never varnished and it has very raw wood looks.
I have few questions:

1- will varnishing and polishing this piece will reduce its value ?
2- will varnishing and polishing prevent it against the weather and termites?
3- how difficult or easy is it to varnish this kind of 3D carved wooden piece ?

thanks
Sami

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Some questions and answers relevant to the answers that you seek could be:

A. What timber is it - could be teak (heavy-ish) or Asian cedar (light-ish). Teak is much more weather resistant than cedar, though it would go grey out in the weather and eventually crack up unless protected from UV and light (hence C below). Items like this are unlikely to last wrong if exposed to the weather.

B.How old is the piece (if it is antique and has never been finished, and/or if pieces of this type are not usually finished then polishing it will definitely reduce its value)

C. Depending on whether you finish it all as per B above, if it is old you would normally use an age-appropriate finish. Between 1800 and 1900 polishing usually meant a shellac finish (though before 1800 it usually meant a wax finish). Shellac does not provide weather protection. Termites would not usually attack a dry piece of timber inside a house anyway. The only long-term finish that protects timber against weather is opaque oil paint - it is unlikely that you would want to paint this. Any clear polyurethane finish will definitely reduce its value and will also not last very long out in the weather. The most common attack for exposed timber indoors is from pinhole borers but they do not attack the heartwood of some timbers at all so, if there are no pinholes, and no sapwood (very often susceptible) you usually do not have to worry about them either.

D. What $ value is there to it? Obviously if it is worth very little than some experimentation might be in order, if worth a lot then you will need to do the absolute minimum. The antique restorers creed includes "Do as little as possible to retain the integrity of the piece, do not add anything not original and do not remove anything original" that includes finishes.

E. Varnishing or any kind of brush-applied finish is going to be difficult to avoid runs. Shellac, very diluted, and lots of coats would be the easiest brush-applied finish to avoid runs. If the item really doesn't have any significant financial value and getting some kind of impervious finish on it is absolutely essential then maybe a spray finish would work best (depending on your skill with a sprayer).

[ian]

Hi Sami

where is Boca?

Varnishing something like your panel will be a tricky process.
First you will need to clean the entire carving without causing any damage. I'm not even sure how I'd approach the cleaning task. Initially I'm thinking dental picks, cotton buds and small carving tools.
what ever you do, don't even think of using an abrasive.

[aliyesami]

Thank you all for your valuable answer.
Boca is in south florida.
I would need to get someone appraise this piece before I decide to do any kind of finishing guess

[themage21]

A point to note is that finishing will, in all likelihood, change the colour to some degree. You'll need to be prepared for that as well.

[ubeaut]

That's a beautiful piece you have. Looks to be Balinese.

Pretty sure the traditional finish for something like that is no finish.

Take it from a carver and finisher. Leave it alone. Almost anything you do to it will devalue it and degrade the look of it.

Some things just don't need any finish other than what the carver intended and if that's no finish then no finish is what it needs.

Cheers - Neil